


Laurent Knows: An Essay

by Josselin



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 01:03:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4000024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josselin/pseuds/Josselin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A compilation of various fan perspectives and canon evidence for Laurent knowing Damen’s identity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Acknowledgements: All Captive Prince fans with whom I’ve debated this topic! Especially those on tumblr who submitted links and perspectives for this essay, including: sheilatakesabow, wasted-spaces, robotcorsair, and combat-riceball.

One of the central premises of C.S. Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy is the protagonist Damen’s effort to conceal his secret identity from his Veretian captors. It is significant enough to be in the back of the book description: “For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity.”1 Damen, as the point of view character, considers it essential to not be recognized:

> He must stay quiet, inconspicuous. Enough presence of mind had returned to him to know that as Prince Damianos he would be unlikely to last a night alive in Vere. Better by far to be thought a nameless slave.2

In particular, Damen attempts to conceal himself from the Veretian Crown Prince, Laurent. Damen seems to consider his own efforts at preserving his secret identity from Laurent successful through the conclusion of Prince’s Gambit (Book 2), as evidenced by his concern that Jord might reveal his identity. 

However, a central point of fan speculation is whether Laurent is taken in by the ‘Damianos masquerading as Damen’ subterfuge or whether Laurent knows Damen’s identity and does not reveal his knowledge to Damen directly for other reasons. Fans have identified several indicators Laurent knows or might know Damen’s identity, including:

  1. Laurent’s first reaction to being presented with Damen is uncharacteristic shock, which does not seem in keeping with encountering a random Akielon soldier as a slave.  


  2. Laurent’s initial brutal treatment of Damen is out of character if he does not have specific knowledge of who Damen is and reasons for a pre-existing grudge.  

  3. Damen is not especially good at subterfuge and almost reveals himself repeatedly throughout the novels.  

  4. Laurent is presented as an observant long-term planner, and if he does not know or make attempts to determine Damen’s identity that seems out of character.  

  5. Several interactions are depicted between Damen and Laurent where Laurent seems to focus on the Akielon royal family as a method to upset Damen and where Laurent draws parallels between Damen and Damianos, indicating he is aware of the connection.



For these reasons, some fans are convinced that Laurent is aware of Damen’s identity throughout the books. 

The theory was considered as early as 2009 in the Captive Princes livejournal community as a “fact”: “1. Laurent knows Damen is Damianos, Prince King of Akielos, and knew from the very first.”3 As presented in that post, it tends to be one of the first theories debated amongst fans of the series, and also appears early in the Captivated Discussion Board on Goodreads. As the mod Rachel of the Captivated Discussion Board at Goodreads wrote, “Does Laurent know who Damen is? This seems to be the million dollar question.”4 Fans in the ontd-blllolllu livejournal community compiled a list in December 2011 of their discussion threads, including an index of “Various permutations of LAURENT KNOWS (with a little bit of “maybe not?”).”5 The goal of this essay is to centralize points from fan discussions and debates along with a close reading of the text for convenient reference as to why fans think Laurent knows Damen’s identity.

1\. Captive Prince: Book One of the Captive Prince Trilogy Paperback – April 7, 2015. Amazon. Accessed 11 May 2015. http://www.amazon.com/Captive-Prince-Book-One-Trilogy/dp/0425274268 ↩  
2\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
3\. petit_baobab, “That Have Not the Wits Enough To Be Honest.” Captive Princes. 24 October 2009. Accessed 12 May 2015. http://captive-princes.livejournal.com/12199.html ↩  
4\. “Does Laurent know who Damen is?” Goodreads: Captivated Forum. Started 19 July 2013. Accessed 10 May 2015. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1416403-does-laurent-know-who-damen-is ↩  
5\. “Advise Me, Captain: A Captive Prince Discussion Post.” ontd-blllolllu. Started 1 December 2011. Accessed 10 May 2015. http://ontd-blllolllu.livejournal.com/197614.html?thread=657723630#t657723630↩


	2. Laurent’s Initial Reaction

Damen arrives in Vere and is presented to the Crown Prince Laurent in Chapter One of Captive Prince. Damen’s first reaction to Laurent focuses on the Prince’s attractive appearance. Damen’s observation of Laurent’s initial reaction is incomplete, but he sees surprise:

> Laurent had stopped dead the moment he had seen Damen, his face turning white as though in reaction to a slap, or an insult. Damen’s view, half-truncated by the short chain at this neck, had been enough to see that. But Laurent’s expression had shuttered quickly.6  
> 

Damen does not have any context to evaluate Laurent’s reaction in that moment, but readers can observe that Laurent is rarely described as having such a dramatic reaction. Turning white is a frequent expression of Pacat’s, used at least four times in Book 1 (Adrastus, Nicaise, Erasmus, and a servant) and six times in Book 2 (a soldier, Aimeric three times, Jord, and Nikandros). However, it is rarely applied to Laurent. The other point at which Laurent is described as turning white is toward the conclusion of Book 2, when Damen accuses him of being responsible for Nicaise’s death 7 and Laurent has in that case an obvious extreme emotional reaction.

Fan Eisheth claims on a Goodreads discussion forum that Laurent “knew from the start,” pointing to his reaction and claiming, “I can't see Laurent reacting like that to Random Joe Akielos.”8 Fan Rachel agrees, saying, “True, when I first read that scene I thought he turned stark white from recognizing him.”9

In addition to his initial surprise, Laurent turns to drink after this first encounter. When he comes to see Damen later, Damen observes: “Laurent’s slightly lidded eyes, the slackness around his mouth, spoke of a night wasted in a dissolute courtier’s overindulgence in wine.”10 Damen does not again observe Laurent drink, and repeatedly notes that Laurent does not drink. Damen notes Laurent drinking water from a goblet three times in Book 211,12,13 and observes Laurent decline an offer of an alcoholic beverage he instructs Damen to accept from the Vaskians.14 Laurent’s abstinence from drink seems to imply that possibly a serious emotional upset motivates his decision to imbibe after Damen is first presented.

In addition, three other clues to Laurent’s knowledge of Damen’s identity are revealed in their early encounter and persist throughout Book 1 and Book 2. 

First, Laurent inquires as to Damen’s name, but after the handler suggests that he be called “Damen,” Laurent proceeds to never call Damen by name through Captive Prince and Prince’s Gambit. 

Second, Laurent notes Damen’s scar, which is a result of having been run through by a sword by Laurent’s brother Auguste in a duel:

> Laurent’s gaze tracked over Damen’s body. Damen’s garments had loosened under the rough hands of the guards, baring his torso. ‘You have a scar.’ 
> 
> He had two, but the one that was now visible lay just below his left collarbone. Damen felt for the first time the stir of real danger, the flicker of his own quickening pulse.15  
> 

Damen repeats the phrase, “You have a scar” in his mind as he remembers the fight with Auguste; it seems to worry him that Laurent will draw a connection. Laurent remarks upon the scar later:

> Laurent said, ‘I didn’t think anyone was good enough to get past your guard.’ 
> 
> ‘One person,’ said Damen.16  
> 

Third, Laurent taunts Damen with comments about his family, insulting his brother and his brother’s mistress. This initial encounter begins a pattern to Laurent’s insults, where use uses comments about the Akielon royal family to provoke Damen. It works:

> ‘So the country will be ruled by a bastard and a whore,’ said Laurent. ‘How appropriate.’ 
> 
> Damen felt himself react, even restrained as he was, a hard jerk aborted by chains. He caught the self-satisfied pleasure on Laurent’s face.17  
> 

It’s possible that any loyal Akielon would be offended by insults to the royal house, but Laurent’s persistent focus on Kastor, Jokaste, and Theomedes can be read as another indication he knows Damen’s identity.

Combined, the first scene is enough to convince some readers that Laurent knows from the start. Laurent displays uncharacteristic surprise upon seeing Damen that can be read as recognition. Laurent has an uncharacteristic emotional reaction to Damen’s arrival shown by overindulging in drink. Also, Chapter 1 initiates three other patterns that seem indicative of Laurent’s knowledge, including his refusal to use Damen’s name, his notice of the scar on Damen’s shoulder inflicted in a swordfight with his brother, and Laurent’s patterns of insults to Damen focusing on the Akeilon royal family. 

 

6\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
7\. ‘Then you’ll kill them like you killed Nicaise,’ said Damen. ‘By dragging them into this endless, childish bid of yours for your uncle’s attention that you call a fight.’  
‘Get out,’ said Laurent. He had gone white.  
‘Is the truth hard to hear?’  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩  
8\. “Does Laurent know who Damen is?” Goodreads: Captivated Forum. Started 19 July 2013. Accessed 10 May 2015. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1416403-does-laurent-know-who-damen-is ↩  
9\. “Does Laurent know who Damen is?” Goodreads: Captivated Forum. Started 19 July 2013. Accessed 10 May 2015. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1416403-does-laurent-know-who-damen-is ↩  
10\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
11\. Laurent calmly helped himself to goblet and pitcher, pouring himself a drink. Damen couldn’t help glancing at the goblet, remembering the last time they had been alone together in Laurent’s rooms. Pale brows arched a fraction. ‘Your virtue’s safe. It’s just water. Probably.’ Laurent took a sip, then lowered the goblet, holding it in refined fingers.  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition. ↩  
12\. Laurent didn’t answer at first. He poured himself a drink from the pitcher beside the map. It wasn’t the cheap mouth-rasping wine Jord was drinking, Damen saw. It was water.  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩  
13\. It was late when Laurent called a halt to the discussion, pushing a half-drunk goblet of water away from himself, and stretching.  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩  
14\. On the dais, he saw Laurent wave away a similar cup when it was offered to him, despite the advice he had just given Damen. Of course. Of course Laurent wasn’t drinking. Laurent surrounded himself with the opulent excesses of a courtesan, and lived in them like an ascetic.  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩  
15\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
16\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩  
17\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  



	3. Laurent’s Cruelty to Damen

Laurent’s initial treatment of Damen is cruel and uncharacteristic of how Laurent treats others throughout the books. 

After being first presented with Damen, Laurent has him beaten by his guards,18 threatens him with rape,19 drugs him and arranges a failed attempt for Damen to be assaulted and raped,20 waits for his uncle to travel and tests Damen alone,21 and then arranges for Damen to be beaten close to death.22 Subsequently, he arranges and participates in Damen’s rape by Ancel.23

The reader is given clues that Laurent’s behavior is unusual by other characters. 

First, Laurent is apparently not a regular attendee of the Veretian ring entertainments:

> ‘It’s so rare to see you at these entertainments, Your Highness,’ said Vannes.24

Readers speculate that what prompts Laurent to attend and put Damen in the ring is revenge.

Second, the severity of Laurent’s flogging surprises others in Arles. The guards enlisted to perform the flogging are reluctant and bribed by Laurent.25 Radel, the slave overseer, is shocked:

> Radel stared at his back in horror.
> 
> ‘The Prince really . . . did this.’26

Audin, a Veretian Councillor, calls it barbaric, destructive, and wild:

> [Audin] fished out a square of silk and lifted it to his nose, as if to screen his sensibilities from affront. ‘What happened to his back? That’s barbaric.’
> 
> It was, thought Damen, the first time he had heard the word ‘barbaric’ used to describe anything other than himself or his country.27

Laurent’s uncle uses the event to justify to the Council the removal of Laurent’s income. These reactions indicate that the flogging is uncharacteristic of Laurent’s past behavior and condemned by others in Vere.

Laurent permitting Ancel to fellate Damen is not condemned by Veretian cultural mores, but it is still noted by other characters as unusual for Laurent himself. Vannes had already told Damen: “The Prince has a reputation for leaving pets unsatisfied.”28

Fan edictalis analyzes these events:

> If Laurent doesn’t know or guess who Damen is, then he’s being repeatedly, horrifyingly cruel to a slave who looks a little bit like a dude he doesn’t like– and Laurent doesn’t do that....
> 
> Assuming he knows who Damen is, there’s a fucked up but understandable course of revenge where he essentially decides to torture his brother’s killer to death by putting him in the ring with Govart; is completely blindsided by Damen’s insistence that he doesn’t hurt innocents and won’t rape Nicaise; tries to forget all of this by staying as far away from Damen as possible before presumably being like FINE!! LET’S TEST THAT!!! by going into the baths with him; reacting instinctively and totally to the fact that Damen tries to assault him and having him beaten half to death… This is explicable. The point at which Laurent decides to be briefly a monster is when he has Damen raped by Ancel. He already knows he can’t get away with having Damen executed; he’s doing it for his own vicious satisfaction, doing what, in point of fact, he seems to have the absolute most horror of for himself (for obvious reasons) and in others.29

As edictalis notes, Laurent is not similarly cruel to others. He is kind to Erasmus, another Akielon slave:

> ‘He’s even nicer in person. Did you know he came and talked to me?’ said Erasmus.30

Laurent has earned the respect of his guards, makes well intended overtures to Nicaise, and something about his character attracts the physician Paschal to serve him as well. Laurent is no stranger to violence -- he stabs Govart and strikes Aimeric -- but readers do not observe the cruelty with which he initially treats Damen in his treatment of other characters. 

One factor that would explain Laurent’s unusual cruelty to Damen is if he has recognized Damen and is embarking on a deliberate course of revenge because Damen killed his older brother Auguste. Therefore, fans see Laurent’s treatment of Damen as a sign that Laurent is aware of Damen’s identity.

18\. ‘No,’ said Laurent, ‘Restrain him here in the harem. After you teach him some manners.’  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
19\. ‘I thought you wouldn’t soil yourself with a barbarian,’ said Damen, careful to keep his voice neutral. He was aware of the beat of his heart. ‘I wouldn’t,’ said Laurent. ‘But if I gave you to one of the guards, I might lower myself as far as watching.’  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition. ↩  
20\. ‘You kept pestering me to put a pet in the ring,’ Laurent was saying to Vannes and the other courtiers who had joined him. ‘I thought it was time I indulged you.’  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
21\. ‘My uncle has ridden to Chastillon. He hunts boar. He likes the chase. He likes the kill, too. It’s a day’s ride, after which he and his party will stay five nights at the old keep. His subjects know better than to bother him with missives from the palace. I have waited six days so that you and I could be alone.’ Those sweet blue eyes gazed at him. It was, when you shook off the sugared tone, a threat.  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
22\. ‘Your Highness, I’m not certain he’ll survive another round.’  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition. ↩  
23\. On the other hand, the aloof, untouched Laurent was at this moment delivering a precise treatise on cocksucking.  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
24\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
25\. ‘Your Highness, I’m not certain he’ll survive another round.’  
Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
26\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
27\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
28\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩  
29\. edictalis. “I’m restraining myself forcibly from liveblogging this Captive Prince reread.” 9 Feb 2013. Accessed 10 May 2015. http://edictalis.tumblr.com/post/42692657531/im-restraining-myself-forcibly-from-liveblogging↩  
30\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition. ↩


	4. Damen's Poor Attempts at Subterfuge

A third reason that fans suspect that Laurent knows Damen’s identity is that Damen is not particularly effective at concealing himself. Damen both observes within his own behavior his lack of skill at deceit, and the reader is offered opportunities to observe Damen concealing himself poorly even when he does not seem aware of how he is giving himself away. 

Damen seems aware even from the start of the book that he is a straightforward thinker. When overtaken by soldiers in his home, he struggles:

> He was thrown into a cell. His mind, which ran along straight and candid lines, could not make sense of what was happening.31

He is not skilled with lying, and compares himself to his brother as he attempts to dissemble about his identity to Laurent:

> Damen chose his words carefully, wishing he had his half-brother’s facility for falsehood.32

Actions that might have further served to conceal his identity, such as obscuring his fluency with the Veretian language, do not seem to occur to Damen, who brags of his ability at it in his first exchange with Laurent.33 Damen knowingly struggles with the dictates of slave behavior, such as when Laurent orders him to crawl.34

Damen seems to give his noble background away with some frequency. In Book 1, when Damen talks with Torveld, he gives himself away by referring to Jokaste without a title:

> ‘And Jokaste?’ Damen said. 
> 
> He said her name as he would have said it to her, without a title. Torveld gazed at him speculatively.35

Even Torveld seems on the edge of recognition, and references Laurent:

> ‘You know,’ said Torveld, slowly, ‘you resemble Kastor a little. It’s something in the eyes. In the shape of the face. The more I look at you—’ 
> 
> No. 
> 
> ‘— the more I see it. Has anyone ever—’ 
> 
> No. 
> 
> ‘— remarked on it before? I’m sure Laurent would—’36

One of reasons for Damen’s interruption of Torveld’s though is Damen’s own concern that it will be all too easy for Laurent to make the connection to his identity if alerted to Damen’s resemblance.

Erasmus notes Damen’s bearing:

> ‘I wish I could believe you,’ said Erasmus. ‘You talk like a master. But you are a slave, like I am.’37

The Regent also observes Damen’s behavior is uncharacteristic of his claimed identity when he interviews Damen after the attack in Laurent’s chambers:

> ‘You must be relieved that my nephew is leaving,’ said the Regent. It was not a good question to answer. 
> 
> ‘I’m sure he’ll do honour to his country,’ said Damen. 
> 
> The Regent gazed at him. ‘You are quite diplomatic. For a soldier.’38

In Book 2, Damen seems to realize that he’s given away too much while speaking to Jord:

> ‘Can you read and write?’ Jord asked him. 
> 
> ‘Yes, of course,’ said Damen. Then stopped. 
> 
> Jord didn’t notice.39

So Damen seems to provide clues to his background through his noble bearing.

In addition, one of the most distinctive things about Damen seems to be his fighting prowess. Touars recognizes Damen based on his fighting style in battle after having seen it previously at Marlas:

> The expression on [Touars’] face had changed. 
> 
> It was not, as it might have been, a reaction to the skill he faced, or the way that a man looks when he thinks that he has lost a fight. It was the dawning of disbelief, and of recognition. 
> 
> ‘I know you,’ said Lord Touars, in a sudden jagged voice, as though memory had been ripped from him. He threw himself into the attack. Damen, shock-emptied, reacted by instinct, parrying once, then spearing from below, where Touars was wide open. ‘I know you,’ Touars said again. Damen’s sword went in, and instinct pushed forward and drove it in further. 
> 
> ‘Damianos,’ Touars said. ‘Prince-killer.’40

Laurent has paid particular attention to Damen’s fighting skills, and also makes a point of saying he was in the field at Marlas. He would therefore have had even more opportunity to recognize Damen’s style than Touars did.

For example, Laurent watches Damen fight Govart in Chapter 2 of Book 2: “Laurent had come into the training area and was standing not far off, by the arms tent, watching them.”41

Laurent is paying close attention, because he remarks, “You’re better than I am.”42

That observation is given particular significance after Laurent himself fights Govart. Damen asks Laurent about his training:

> ‘You must have spent a lot of time in training,’ said Damen, and to his surprise Laurent answered him seriously. 
> 
> ‘I was never a fighter,’ said Laurent. ‘That was Auguste. But after Marlas, I was obsessed with . . .’ 
> 
> Laurent stopped. Damen could see the moment when Laurent decided to continue. It was deliberate, his eyes meeting Damen’s, his tone subtly changed. 
> 
> ‘Damianos of Akielos was commanding troops at seventeen. At nineteen, he rode onto the field, cut a path through our finest men, and took my brother’s life. They say— they said— he was the best fighter in Akielos. I thought, if I was going to kill someone like that, I would have to be very, very good.’43

Damen does not connect the two remarks, but it is possible for the reader to see that Laurent was disappointed to find that after years of training specifically for the purpose of beating Damianos, he was not good enough.

In summary, Damen reveals his own identity, or at least hints about it, in a number of ways. He has a noble bearing and manner of speaking. He demonstrates skill with a foreign language and with literacy. He has a distinctive fighting style which he does not attempt to obscure, and which Laurent notes specifically. Fans see the combination of all of these clues as further evidence that Laurent is aware of Damen’s identity.

* * *

31\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
32\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
33\. "The words came out before he could stop them. ‘I speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart.’" Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
34\. "‘Crawl.’ Crawl. It was as though everything ground to a halt in the face of that single order. The part of Damen’s mind that told him he must feign obedience was drowned out by his pride." Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
35\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
36\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
37\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
38\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume One. Gatto, 2012. Kindle Edition.↩   
39\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩   
40\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩   
41\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩   
42\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩   
43\. Pacat, S.U.. Captive Prince: Volume Two. Gatto, 2013. Kindle Edition.↩


End file.
